‘The next step is to work hard and maintain my position in the team,’ said the 21 year-old this week.
Kaizer Chiefs attacking midfielder Mduduzi Shabalala is looking to grab his opportunity with both hands, after earning a call-up to the Bafana squad for this month’s 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Nigeria.
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Bafana will play Lesotho on Friday at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium and then take on Nigeria on September 9, probably at the Free State Stadium, with Hugo Broos’ side looking to build on a five point lead at the top of Group C.
All change for Bafana
A raft of injuries, coupled with other players’ loss of form, has meant plenty of changes to this Bafana squad, compared to the team that took down Lesotho and Benin in the last World Cup qualifiers in March.
Shabalala has been rewarded for a fine start to the season with Chiefs, who have picked up 13 points from a possible 15 in their first five Premiership games.
“The next step is to work hard and maintain my position in the team,” said the 21 year-old this week.
“It is not easy, there are players with more experience than us, who are better than us. We need to play our part … and be here in the next camps (too).”
Shabalala was a part of the Bafana side that reached the final of the Cosafa Cup in June. And the Amakhosi man says he believes this helped his cause in catching Broos’ eye.
“It was a good platform for us to showcase our game, and to prove to the coach that we want to be in the ‘first’ squad,” he added.
Broos, meanwhile, has insisted he has full faith in all the players in his squad, despite the host of absences. Regular squad members Khuliso Mudau, Grant Kekana, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Siphesihle Sithole, Thapelo Morena, Themba Zwane, Elias Mokwana and Patrick Maswanganyi will all miss the two games.
‘It is up to them’
“I have confidence in all the players I select. I know the qualities they have. It is up to them, said Broos.
“They (the new players) are not here because I am Santa Claus.
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“It is true that the other boys are not there, but if I didn’t have confidence in the quality of these players they wouldn’t be here. I saw them play in their teams. They have the qualities to help us in this game (Lesotho) and the game on Tuesday (Nigeria).”
Bafana will camp in Johannesburg until Thursday when they will make their way to Bloemfontein. Problems with the surface at the Free State Stadium caused Fifa to move the Lesotho game to the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium.
The match is a home game for Lesotho, but they do not have a suitable stadium in their own country.
